Ramat-Gan, Israel: The primary psychoactive agent in cannabis, THC, possesses anti-tumoral activity in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cell lines and should be evaluated in clinical trials as a treatment for brain cancer, according to preclinical data to be published in the journal Acta Oncologica.

Investigators at Bar-Ilan University in Israel report that the administration of THC significantly affects the viability of GBM cells. Glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive form of glioma (brain cancer), strikes some 7,000 Americans annually, and generally results in death within one to two years following diagnosis.

“THC [is] an essential mediator of cannabinoid antitumoral action,” investigators concluded. “Administration of Delta(9)-THC to glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cell lines results in a significant decrease in cell viability. … [I]t is suggested that Delta(9)-THC and other cannabinoids be implemented in future clinical evaluation as a therapeutic [agent] for brain tumors.”

In 2006, investigators at Complutense University in Spain reported that the intracranial administration of THC decreased recurrent GBM tumor growth in humans.

Finally, last month an investigative team from Trinity College in Ireland proclaimed in the British Journal of Pharamcology that pot-based therapies may offer greater hopes for staving off Alzheimer’s disease than do existing pharmaceutical therapies (“Alzheimer¹s disease: taking the edge off with cannabinoids?”).

Researchers wrote, “Cannabinoids offer a multi-faceted approach for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease by providing neuroprotection and reducing neuroinflammation, whilst simultaneously supporting the brain’s intrinsic repair mechanisms by augmenting neurotrophin expression and enhancing neurogenesis (the formation of new brain cells).”

Can the Drug Enforcement Administration please name another plant with the power to achieve all this?